Monday, April 12, 2010

Another main reason things become obsolete is because they are no longer needed and once there function ceases they are useless. This is the same with buildings, for example many old working class suburbs have recently become popular and expensive, this changes what the suburb’s original purpose was, factories and warehouses.

The Hoffman Brick Works redevelopment is located in Brunswick in Melbourne. Brunswick was originally a working class district and the brickworks were the main industry with their factories taking up 18 acres. Brunswick has now become a popular suburban area due to its location so close to the thriving Melbourne metropolis. When the brickworks closed down the land and buildings were saved and redeveloped into popular apartments. This is a great example of changing something that was not serving its purpose anymore and creating it into a thriving community. Creating new life out of old.

This is the original brickworks, the character of the building would have been a shame to loose.

This is the brickworks today, as you can see from the photo's they kept some elements of the building, i think they also retained the character successfully.

I think this is a really good thing to do; these building already have a history and a story. It is a very sustainable thing to do, rather than tear them down because they are obsolete, instead make them fashionable again by changing their purpose, this is exactly the same principal that Gary Harvey uses to create his high couture dresses, taking something old to create something new.

The Walsh Bay redevelopment is located on darling harbour and was originally used and built to accommodate trade to and from Sydney harbour. This is no longer required so now it has become a thriving commercial, residential, retail and cultural place. This has become one of the most desirable and expensive places to live due to its picturesque location on the waterfront.